Santiago Solari led Real Madrid to four wins from four games during his interim period but all the problems that have plagued the club this season came back to bite him in his first match as permanent coach.

Although goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik made several good save and Silva’s header was created by the silky Pablo Sarabia, it is the scorer who has had the biggest impact on the team this season.

Silva, on loan from AC Milan, grabbed his eighth goal of the campaign in which his partnership with Wissam Ben Yedder has proved fruitful.

Pablo Machin, in his first season at the helm of the Andalusian side, has them playing effective football which has taken them to the top of the standings.

Silva endured a nightmare season in Serie A last year after his 33.6 million pounds ($43.2 million) move from Porto, starting seven games and scoring twice, but has resurrected his career in the south of Spain.

Touted to be Ronaldo’s successor for Portugal, Silva is doing his departed compatriot proud in La Liga too.

Returning from a foot injury to face Barcelona, the battling Spain striker had two scores to settle.

One was a personal goal drought that stretched back nine months in La Liga, with the forward not finding the net in the 18 matches before Saturday’s clash at the Wanda Metropolitano.

He had also never scored against Barcelona in 12 appearances for Atletico, Rayo Vallecano and Valladolid.

Both runs ended when Costa headed home Antoine Griezmann’s corner at the back post after 77 minutes.

Coach Diego Simeone will hope Costa can take heart from his goal and continue to find the net for a side who have lacked a prolific forward this season.

“He’s an animal and every time he’s on the pitch the team has a chance to win,” Simeone said.

Dembele beats the clock this time

Criticised by Barcelona team mates and France coach Didier Deschamps for his penchant for turning up late to training sessions, Ousmane Dembele has struggled at Barcelona since joining in August, 2017.

A first season beset by injuries has given way to one where he is fit but having to prove to coach Ernesto Valverde that he is good enough to represent Barcelona.

Only after Costa struck did Valverde turn to Dembele from the bench and the French World Cup winner made a decisive impact, netting a 90th-minute equaliser.

“We expect a lot of him because he is a great talent,” said Valverde, for whom Dembele has earned seven points in La Liga this season, more than any other player in the division.

Cazorla still has the magic touch

Even though Villarreal are struggling in 16th place, it is still worth tuning into their games to see the bewitching Santi Cazorla at work.

The former Arsenal playmaker’s career was derailed by injury but at 33 he returned to his former side Villarreal, and is still producing magic moments.

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Cazorla set up both Villarreal’s goals in a 2-1 win over Real Betis, with Gerard Moreno and Samuel Chukwueze the grateful recipients.

The latter scored after a brilliant backheel from Cazorla, a special assist that showed he still has immense quality.

Man-of-the-match Cazorla also completed the 90 minutes for the second time this season, hinting is getting back to his best level of fitness and there may be more to come.